What does 2007 hold in store for R&B/hip-hop? The consensus boils down to this: 2007 will be a pivotal year for urban music, especially hip-hop.
January 30, 2007 (Press Release) --
Unless more new -- read quality -- artists and unbridled creativity are pumped into the urban lifeline, we're guaranteed more of the same mediocrity.
Though some R&B and hip-hop albums notched respectable sales figures last year, 2006 sounded a wake-up call as both genres posted noteworthy slippages, comprising 20 percent and 10 percent of album sales versus their 2000 heyday, with 25.4 and 13.6 percent.
The loss of quality and creativity needs to be stemmed in 2007, contends Steve Rifkind, head of Akon's label SRC. Which means taking a chance and swerving out of the formulaic lane.
''We are losing our creativity and so desperate for a hit because of downloading and whatever that we're not giving young and upcoming producers a fair shot,'' Rifkind says.
Tim Wilson, owner of St. Paul, Minn.-based hip-hop retailer Urban Lights Music, notes the R&B segment did its job to a certain extent. He singles out new artists like Ne-Yo, LeToya Luckett and Brown as ''good additions to the R&B game'' and hopes major labels will continue to add fresh talent to keep things moving. But Wilson declares rap has to follow the same route to find itself in 2007.
''Where are the new artists? They can't all be down South. [Who's] going to carry the torch and make our music more than a dance craze or gimmick.''
Source: http://www.msn.com
Posted BY GAIL MITCHELL
Though some R&B and hip-hop albums notched respectable sales figures last year, 2006 sounded a wake-up call as both genres posted noteworthy slippages, comprising 20 percent and 10 percent of album sales versus their 2000 heyday, with 25.4 and 13.6 percent.
The loss of quality and creativity needs to be stemmed in 2007, contends Steve Rifkind, head of Akon's label SRC. Which means taking a chance and swerving out of the formulaic lane.
''We are losing our creativity and so desperate for a hit because of downloading and whatever that we're not giving young and upcoming producers a fair shot,'' Rifkind says.
Tim Wilson, owner of St. Paul, Minn.-based hip-hop retailer Urban Lights Music, notes the R&B segment did its job to a certain extent. He singles out new artists like Ne-Yo, LeToya Luckett and Brown as ''good additions to the R&B game'' and hopes major labels will continue to add fresh talent to keep things moving. But Wilson declares rap has to follow the same route to find itself in 2007.
''Where are the new artists? They can't all be down South. [Who's] going to carry the torch and make our music more than a dance craze or gimmick.''
Source: http://www.msn.com
Posted BY GAIL MITCHELL
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